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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29967798">Distractions</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trashspresso/pseuds/Trashspresso'>Trashspresso</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>South Park</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Abuse, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Angst, Craig Is An Asshole, Crenny, Did I mention this is a slow burn?, Drug Use, Fluff and Angst, High School, Hurt No Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Immortality, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Kenny is a baby, M/M, Multi, Recreational Drug Use, Sibling Bonding, Slow Burn, Style if you squint, Underage Drinking, Underage Smoking, crenny rights, honestly good for them, kenny and Bebe are fwb, kenny just wants Karen to have a good life, previous Craig/Tweek, previous Kenny/Tammy, previous creek implied, somehow these crazy kids fall in love, stendy/style love triangle</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 02:47:50</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,503</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29967798</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trashspresso/pseuds/Trashspresso</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>~Distractions only work for so long...~</p><p>This was Kenny’s least favourite part of hookups, the walk home. When he had drunkenly abandoned his truck at whatever party he attended the night prior to get nasty with whatever girl or guy decided to be the one to distract him for the night. The sun burning into his eyes, his head pounding as his boots scraped against the sidewalk and at these times, he had no distractions. Just him alone with himself; and frankly, Kenny hated that a lot more than the hangover.</p><p> </p><p>*In which Kenny is immortal. Craig doesn’t believe him, but decides to help him break his curse anyways. Kenny just wants a distraction from his life for a bit. Im not great with bios just start readin.*</p><p>Spotify playlist that I listen to while writing is listed in the notes :)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Clyde Donovan/Bebe Stevens, Karen McCormick/Tricia Tucker, Kenny McCormick/Craig Tucker, Kyle Broflovski/Stan Marsh, Stan Marsh/Wendy Testaburger, Token Black/Nichole Daniels</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Hookups and Hangovers</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I was having a hard time finding some good Crenny slow burns that I haven’t read so I decided to just write one.</p><p>Here’s my Crenny playlist that I vibe to while I’m writing if anyone wants to listen while they read.<br/>https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3xQ7g2yk41xWpc4dbNvxoE?si=F3-olMqTRjOcJPHVrJaMOQ</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>     A few too many beers.. A couple too many joints. A bit too much coke. Definitely too many pills. </p><p>          The sunlight broke through the opening in the thick pink curtains that masked the windows in Bebe Stevens bedroom. Muffled chirps from the early morning birds could be faintly heard as Kenny McCormick lay shirtless in the sleeping blonde girl’s bed. He had barely found himself able to sleep; a deep seated headache pounding through his head, louder than any thought of rest. He’d blame the beer, or maybe the pills. Anything but the agnosising feeling of being where he was; which despite his current situation, did not include the bedroom of his one night stand. He squeezed his tired blue eyes closed for a moment, before collecting himself enough to push himself up onto the bed.</p><p>         He let his feet touch the floor quietly and strategically so as to not wake Bebe. The last thing he needed right now was her waking up and reaming him out for trying to sneak away. If she even remembered sleeping with him. The two of them were pretty drunk, Kenny didn’t quite understand how he even remembered. </p><p>       He reached a lanky arm out to the floor to retrieve his jeans, letting his feet slide into the pant legs. To his hungover distain, not without getting his feet caught in the rips tore into the knees a couple times. Once he had his pants on and belt buckled, he let his eyes wander back to the sleeping blonde girl. Kenny had never really liked Bebe all too much. She had no personality in his brain other than ‘I’m a girl with big tits’. Though, that was enough for him to make her a reacurring fuck buddy whenever her and Clyde went through their monthly breakups.</p><p>        As she began to stir slightly, Kenny took that as his cue to dip. He tossed his white t-shirt on, tucking the front part into his jeans before grabbing his orange parka and heading for the door. </p><p>       This was Kenny’s least favourite part of hookups, the walk home. When he had drunkenly abandoned his truck at whatever party he attended the night prior to get nasty with whatever girl or guy decided to be the one to distract him for the night. The sun burning into his eyes, his head pounding as his boots scraped against the sidewalk and at these times, he had no distractions. Just him alone with himself; and frankly, Kenny hated that a lot more than the hangover.</p><p>      This walk always felt like it lasted forever, no matter how close he was to his house. Although today, he found himself on the other end of town. He let out an exasperated sigh, kicking a couple rocks into the street as he pondered just how long the walk would take. Why did he always need to end up in the most inconvenient places when he was drunk, or high, or both. </p><p>      Kenny let a hand reach into the right hand pocket of his parka, feeling around a bit before yanking out a pack of Marlborough reds. Carefully removing one from the pack, he lifted it to his mouth. He reached a second hand into his left pocket, feeling around for his lighter. After a minute or so of not being able to find it, he let out an audible grunt. His feet came to a halt, sighing out a breathy “fucking shit, great.” Before hearing a low chuckle coming from the garage next to him.</p><p>      “Frustrated? McCormick?” An amused Craig Tucker said, seated in a foldout chair. He took a long drag of his own cigarette, flicking the ash onto the garage floor. His deep hazel eyes scanning over the blonde. He wasn’t wearing his usual blue chullo. Kenny couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen Craig without his hat on. His thick black hair fell into his face a bit, leaving a small shadow across his eyes and nose. He had one of those stupid black NASA hoodies on that he seemed to wear all the time. Kenny had started to wonder if he ever washed them, or if he just had a never ending supply of the things. </p><p>       He drug his heavy feet across the concrete towards the garage, letting out a scoff as he moved closer to Craig.<br/>
“Always. Can I borrow your lighter?” He said, his usual amused grin appearing back onto his lips as he found himself feeling a little more whole again. Distracted. Perfect.</p><p>        Craig leaned to the left a bit, reaching a hand into his pant pocket and pulling out a deep blue lighter. It had a bunch of little stars on it, a couple making tiny constellations, which were connected by a faint line of white ink. It looked as if Craig had drawn them on himself. ‘Fag’ Kenny thought to himself as he reached a hand out to snatch the lighter from Tucker. He lifted the lighter to the cigarette that hung loosely from his lips, inhaling deeply as he lit it.<br/>
“Thanks.” He said nonchalantly, reaching his hand out to hand Craig his lighter back.</p><p>      Craig made a face as if Kenny had just insulted him, lifting his hands up and shrugging away.<br/>
“No way dude, I don’t want that shit back now. It’s got Kenny all over it. Keep it.”<br/>
Kenny felt a playful smirk creep across his face, the urge to say something flirty back so intense. ‘Don’t act like you don’t want me all over you Tucker..’ But Kenny didn’t feel like getting socked in the face today. </p><p>       “Don’t your parents not like you smoking?” He said slyly, leaning his back against the wall near the open garage door. </p><p>      “Parents aren’t here. Visiting my grandma in Denver. Coming back tonight though.” Craig said, not bothering to look at the blonde boy as he smushed his cigarette butt into the ground. He pushed himself up from the chair, now a lot taller than Kenny, who stood at a whopping 5’8. Craig had always been tall, even throughout grade school. Though, now he sat around 6’2, making him the tallest kid in their school. Kenny held back another urge to make a dirty comment ‘wish you told me your parents weren’t home sooner’. He pocketed the lighter, giving Craig a small wink as he turned to leave the garage.</p><p>      “Thanks for the lighter Tucker. Cya tomorrow.” He said with a lazy wave as he turned back to the sidewalk. A little more enthused about his walk home now that he had a smoke. Craig didn’t acknowledge Kenny, letting himself lift a finger up to the garage door button on the wall. </p><p>      As Kenny continued on his usual post-coytal walk home, he felt his playful smile fade back to a tired frown. The distraction was nice while it lasted.</p><p>—-</p><p>       Once Kenny arrived back at his house, he was immediately drawn to the sound of yelling coming from behind the door. He reached into his parka, yanking out his little shitty Motorola flip phone. </p><p>8:45am</p><p>      Kenny felt his eyes roll, shoving his phone back into his pocket. It wasn’t even 9am and his parents were already at it. He let his fingers linger on the door knob for a moment, before finally allowing himself to twist it and push his way into his house. </p><p>      “Well maybe if you didn’t fucking blow all of our money on drugs and booze we would have the fucking money this month! But no! Of course not! Your water is not NEARLY as important as your fucking beer, yeah Stuart?!” His mom stood waving her hands in the kitchen as his dad laid lazily on the couch. </p><p>      His dad shot up from his seat angrily, pointing a stern finger towards his mom.<br/>
“Listen here you fucking cunt. Don’t act like this is all me. Deal with your own damn drug and alcohol problems before you come at anyone else for theirs! The kids don’t need to fucking hear this shit.” Kenny kept his head down, not bothering to look at either of his parents as he made his way past them to the hallway. Once out of the hot zone, he moved towards the first door on the left. </p><p>      A small piece of scrap paper was taped to the door that read ‘Karen’, little hearts and flowers drawn around the name. Kenny smiled to himself as he lifted his hand to knock gently on the door. </p><p>      “Password?” A small shaky voice could be heard from the other side of the cracked wooden door. </p><p>      Kenny let out a little chuckle, placing his hand onto the door.<br/>
“Karen you change it every time, how am I supposed to know.” He said as he turned the knob, pushing his door open before entering her room. Her room was almost as empty as Kenny’s, other than the few decorations Kenny had made or bought for her with the little money he got from working at City Wok. His sister was seated on her bed, wrapped in old race car and dinosaur blankets. Hand me downs from him and Kevin.<br/>
She had a pink game boy colour in her hand, Kenny had also bought her that, when he was lucky enough to find a used one at their local pawn shop. </p><p>       He moved towards the bed, pushing the door closed behind him. Letting himself sit next to his sister and glancing down at her.<br/>
“Wacha playing?” He said with a soft smile, reaching an arm around her with a comforting squeeze. Kevin and Kenny would always be annoyed at their parents' frequent arguments, Karen however was a lot more sensitive to them. Frequently throwing herself into crying fits of anxiety whenever things got loud and violent between the two of them. Kenny had always told her to find something to do, a distraction. Kenny was a big fan of those. </p><p>       “Pokémon.” Karen said sweetly, her voice trembling slightly as she spoke. Kenny nodded slowly, letting out a sigh before allowing himself to ask;</p><p>      “How long have they been going at it?...” </p><p>       “They didn’t even come home until like 5am, it’s been since then..” </p><p>       “Why didn’t you call me?..”</p><p>       “I didn’t want to bother you..” Karen shifted uncomfortably “weren’t you at a party last night?”</p><p>       Kenny moved so he was facing his sister now, pushing her game boy out of her vision for a moment so she would look at him.<br/>
“Karen, you’re never bothering me. I would have come right home, you know that.”</p><p>       Karen sat silently for a moment, opening her mouth slightly just to press it closed again. The two of them sat there silently for a moment, before the sound of glass breaking in the living room rang through the quiet. </p><p>       “Ugh, why don’t we go for a walk at the pond. We can toke up and throw rocks at cans or something okay?” Ever since Karen turned 13 and started asking Kenny for weed, he’d been smoking with her. ‘Just make sure you’re getting it from me okay? Not some sketchy kid selling dime bags at school.’ </p><p>      Karen was 15 now, and a recent favourite distraction of Kenny’s was bringing her to the pond to get high with him. They’d sit there for hours and talk about school, friends, life plans. Anything to keep them from thinking about going home. </p><p>      Karen smiled up at her brother, sliding the blankets off her shoulder as she stretched her arms. “Yeah okay, but we can’t stay out all night again. I know you don’t care about school but I do, and tomorrow’s Monday.” </p><p>      “Yeah yeah, get out of your pajamas, I’ll meet you by the front door, I just gotta grab my pipe.” Kenny quickly excused himself from Karen’s room, walking to his own across the hall to collect his things. </p><p>       “Uh…. hey Ken?” Fuck. Kenny spun around on his heels, stuffing his pipe and weed into his pocket quickly. His father stood in the doorway, one arm leaned against the door frame to sturdy himself from wobbling too much. </p><p>      “What.” Kenny said with a blank expression.</p><p>       “Look son… your mother and I are having a hard time paying the water bill again this month.. I know I said last time would be the last but… I need $80.” Stuart said in a low, almost demanding tone. Kenny felt a hot knot form in the back of his throat. He let out a small sigh as he walked over to his closet, struggling to push the sliding door open as it had fallen off the tracks months ago. Two small boxes sat on the floor under his dirty clothes, both locked with padlocks. On top of one, written in sharpie said ‘Karen college’, the other marked ‘Kenny college’. Kenny reached into his Jean pocket, pulling out his keychain and unlocking the one labeled for him.</p><p>      Inside the box was one $50 bill, and a couple quarters. Kenny reached in and took the bill and change out, closing the box and his closet and he reached to hand it to his dad.<br/>
“I only have $50 and some change..”</p><p>     His dad shifted slightly, reaching out to snag the bill from his son. “Don’t lie to me Kenny, there’s two boxes in there.”</p><p>      Kenny felt the knot in his throat get bigger, hotter. “Dad, that's Karen’s, I'm not giving you money from that. Good to know you’ve been looking through my room though. Get out.”</p><p>      “Don’t talk to me like that Kenny.” </p><p>       “I said get out.”</p><p>       “Ken?”  Kenny glanced behind his dad, Karen stood in her own doorway behind him dressed and holding a backpack. “I’m ready to go….” Thank god. He pushed his way past his dad, tossing the remaining quarters into his pocket. He’d add them to Karen’s box later.</p><p>      “Where the hell are you two off too this early.” His mom said in an annoyed tone, lifting her head up from where it was pressed against the kitchen counter.</p><p>       “Out. Bye.” Kenny said as he helped push Karen towards the door. “Oh,” he said, briefly turning back before walking out. “Stay the fuck out of my room.” He shouted, before turning back around and slamming the door closed.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Cigarettes and Insomnia</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Spotify playlist I listen to while writing~</p><p>https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3xQ7g2yk41xWpc4dbNvxoE?si=F3-olMqTRjOcJPHVrJaMOQ</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kenny let out a long exhale as he pulled up to the South Park High parking lot in his beaten up old burgundy pickup truck. Him and Karen had walked back to Token’s house together to pick it up once they had decided they were bored of the pond. The truck used to belong to his older brother Kevin, until Kevin ended up getting a new one when he moved into Denver. Leaving behind his old junk for his younger brother, as usual.</p><p>   He reached a tired hand into the glove compartment of his car, pulling out a joint he had rolled before leaving the house. He was late, as he usually was, so the parking lot was empty enough for him to smoke without being seen. He lifted the joint up to his chapped lips, lighting it with the lighter Craig had given him yesterday. A part of him wanted to toss the lighter out, it was almost empty anyways. Another part of him hoped Craig would see him still using it. He smiled softly to himself at the thought. Tucker would probably blush, and then make some offhanded homophobic comment to Kenny. </p><p>   Kenny loved bothering Craig, it was pretty much the only reason he still showed up to school. The look Craig would have in his eyes when Kenny flirted with him, the way his face heated up as he clenched his fists while he’d scream at Kenny. The way he’d always give him a little smirk before eventually punching him. He almost thought Craig might have enjoyed their bantering as well. At least, Kenny sort of hoped he did. Because Kenny certainly enjoyed it.</p><p>   He sat in silence in the truck for awhile, finishing up his joint before hopping out. His feet hit the gravel with a thud, the rocks slipping beneath his feet slightly almost making him lose his balance. He steadied himself against the side of the truck, shoving the door closed before walking towards the back door of the school.</p><p>   Kenny always snuck in through the back door when he was late. It was nice to avoid having to walk by the office, and the inevitable questions about where he was all morning. </p><p>   He paced slowly towards the door, kicking the rocks beneath his torn up boots. The snow had become wet and slushy, a little bit of the dampness seeping through the holes of his boots and into his socks. It was April, almost the end of the school year. Thank god. The weather never got too warm in South Park, they had snow for about 10 months of the year. Sometimes in the summer months it would get just warm enough to completely melt it all, but that was rare.</p><p>   As Kenny reached the door and lifted his hand up to pull the handle, he heard a small shuffle and cough from by the garbage bins. He felt that usual playful smirk creep up onto his face, not even having to turn around to know who it was.</p><p>   “Ditching class again, Tucker?” He said slyly, turning around to face the tall dark haired boy. Craig was leaned against the bin, one leg propped up behind him. One hand was stuffed into his navy blue jacket, the other nursing a half smoked cigarette. His dark eyes narrowed at Kenny as he brought the cigarette to his lips, taking a long inhale before speaking. </p><p>   “What the fuck do /you/ care? You’re the one showing up at 11am. School starts at 8 ya know?” He always spoke so confidently, the words spitting out of his mouth like razor blades. There it was, that redness on his cheeks. Kenny was turned on.</p><p>   “Did you come out here to wait for me Tucker? That’s so sweet.” He said, hands shoving into his parka pockets as he swayed towards Craig. “Did you wanna make out here? The garbage cans might be sort of a turn off though… we can always go to my truck and-“ Kenny was quickly interrupted by a large hand gripping onto his jacket, pulling him up to look at Craigs anger filled face.</p><p>   “I’m not a fucking faggot McCormick. Get that fucking smug look off your face before I wipe it off.” He was seething, fist clenched into a tight ball around his jacket. His knuckles were turning white as his hand shook slightly from the pressure. </p><p>   Kenny never faltered, as usual. He kept his signature smirk plastered on his face as he raised his hands in the air, trying to show innocence. “Only if you wipe it off with your lips.” He knew that was a bad move. Craig let out a frustrated grunt that Kenny honestly thought was kind of hot. He threw his smoke on the ground, reaching his other fist up to join his hand on Kenny’s jacket to shove him roughly into the garbage bin. He was so close to Kenny’s face he thought he might actually kiss him. His hot breath blowing onto the blonde boy's cheeks. His breath smelt like a deep mix of weed, cigarettes and mint gum. </p><p>   Kenny felt his smile drop, his eyes finding a spot to rest on Craig's lips. They weren’t chapped like his, and looked pretty soft… tempting.</p><p>    “I can’t fucking wait to graduate so I can move to Denver and get the hell away from you. Faggot.” Craig spat, releasing his hold on Kenny’s jacket. Kenny let out a loud breath that he didn’t realize he was holding in, returning his hands to his pockets as he looked up at Craig. Just as he was about to make another flirty comment that absolutely would have gotten Craig to sock him in the face, a head peaked out the back door.</p><p>   “Craig dude, are you ever coming back in? We need to work on our project, I can’t keep telling Mrs Buttfuck that you’re in the bathroom. Cmon.” Clyde said in a frustrated tone as he glanced at the two boys. “Oh, hey Kenny.”</p><p>   Kenny kept his eyes on Craig for one more moment, pacing to the school and pushing past Clyde. “Hey buddy! Keep that asshole in check, he keeps trying to make out with me back here.” Kenny said, sending a wink at Craig as he turned to walk towards his class.</p><p>——</p><p>    The day dragged on longer than usual, Craig hadn’t slept too much the night before. He never got too much sleep these days. He didn’t think it was a big deal, but it was enough to worry his mom into taking him to their family doctor. The doctor said Craig had ‘insomnia’, which he guessed was just a fancy way of saying that his brain won’t let him fall asleep or stay asleep. The doctor recommended trazadone as a sleep aid, but Craig rarely took them. He didn’t like how groggy they made him in the morning. But of course, he told his mom he took them. </p><p>   In all honesty, Craig liked staying up at night. It’s not like the lack of sleep really bothered him too much. He’d spend most of his night listening to music, crawling out his window onto the roof to smoke a joint and look at the stars. If there was any good thing at all about this shithole town, it was that they got a really great view of the stars at night. He always thought about how much prettier they were then the dumb glow in the dark ones his parents had put up on his walls and ceiling when he was a kid. Although, they did look pretty when Craig was laying in bed at night. </p><p>    “Hello? Earth to Craig?” Token spoke, loudly clapping at Craig from the other side of their lunch table to pull him out of whatever trance he was in.</p><p>   “Oh shit, sorry, I didn’t sleep much last night..” he said in a low voice, reaching his hand behind his head to scratch it gently. </p><p>   “Really? Again? Are you still not taking your pills?” Clyde asked, although it was hard to make out what he was saying with half a burrito stuffed in his mouth. </p><p>   Craig rolled his eyes, looking down at his untouched lunch and sighed in annoyance. “So what if I’m not, pot helps me sleep better anyways, and no I was just up late playing GTA. It’s not a big deal.” That was half true, he did try to play a bit last night to distract himself from not being able to sleep. That was the best thing he could do in those situations. Find a distraction. </p><p>   “C-Craig, you have to take care of your body. I-I-it’s the only one ya g-got!” Jimmy said with a small laugh.</p><p>   “Oh whatever,” Craig said, reaching down to grab his lunch tray and push it towards Clyde. “Finish it I’m not hungry, I’m going out for a smoke.”</p><p>    Clyde smiled, pulling Craig’s lunch tray towards him giddily. “Say hi to Kenny for me!” He said as he took the chocolate milk off the tray, opening it and taking a long chug.</p><p>   Craig didn’t reply, instead he lifted up his middle finger and aimed it towards his friend as he walked towards the back door.</p><p>—-</p><p> </p><p>   Kenny didn’t do much at school that day, his mind too occupied with thoughts of his encounter with Craig earlier that day. His long fingers wrapped around his jacket. Him pressing Kenny into the cold metal of the garbage bin. His breath on Kenny’s cheeks. His scent. Kenny let his head fall back, letting out a loud groan. </p><p>   “Is the fucking bell gonna ring, or are we just going to be trapped here all night.” He said in a grumpy tone. Kyle looked over from his scattered papers, narrowing his eyes slightly.</p><p>   “Can’t you even TRY to pretend that you care about exam prep? This shit is important Kenny. If you even want to think about getting into university you’re going to have to do well on your finals.” He said, rolling his eyes and looking back down towards his papers.</p><p>    “Dude it’s not like I’m failing. I’m doing fine in English and Science. Math is just shit man, I don’t need to know any of this stuff.” It was true, he didn’t really need math for what he wanted to take. He was looking into the youth counseling program at the University of Colorado, but he knew that was a long shot. Not because of his grades, but definitely because of his finances. It was nice to think about though.</p><p>   Just as Kyle was about to speak again, the bell rang. Kenny immediately got up from his chair, grabbing his unopened backpack and tossing it over his shoulder. “Alright I gotta head to work see ya later gingy.” He said with a wink as he dipped out of the class quickly to grab his jacket from his locker. </p><p>   His boss, Mr Tuong, always scheduled him to start at 4, and with school ending at 3:45 that didn’t give Kenny much time to gather his things and head into work. Although, he was always very kind and understanding if Kenny was running late. Kenny still hated making him wait. It always made him feel guilty. Mr Tuong had employed Kenny before he was even of legal age to work in Colorado, paying him under the table for helping out around the restaurant. After a few long years of working there he finally put Kenny on payroll, and even gave him a raise. </p><p>   Kenny quickly collected his jacket and car keys, rushing out to the parking lot and to his truck. To his surprise, Stan was there. Sitting in the bed of his truck with headphones in, and his dark red and blue hat pulled down over his face.</p><p>   “Dude,” Kenny said, reaching a slender hand over to pull his friend's hat off his head, his shaggy black hair falling out over his face. Stan looked shocked for a moment, pulling out his headphones and looking over at the blonde. “You know I’ve gotta work today I don’t have time to drive you home dumbass.”</p><p>   “Please dude, my dad still hasn’t fixed my car. Can you just bring me to work with you? I can hang out at Tweek bros till you’re off, I really don’t wanna get a ride from Wendy today.” Stan said with his usual tired expression on his face. Kenny sighed. Stan and Wendy had been arguing a lot lately, mainly about school. Wendy had planned to go to school in New York. She spent most of her time raving about how beautiful the city was and just how badly she wanted to be surrounded by the beautiful scenery and culture. She already had gotten accepted to a couple universities out there for Political Science. Stan on the other hand, planned to stay in Colorado. Wanting to attend Colorado Northwestern Community College for Oceanography.</p><p>   “Yeah dude, whatever, just get in I’m gonna be late.” Kenny said, tossing Stan's hat at him and rushing around to the drivers side door. </p><p>   It wasn’t too long of a drive to City Wok, but Kenny really hated making Mr Tuong wait. </p><p>   “Why the hell were you sleeping in the bed of my truck? If you wanted to leave and take a nap you could have just asked for the keys.” Kenny said, his bright blue eyes still focused on the road. Stan sighed, looking over at Kenny while he lit a cigarette. </p><p>   “I don’t know, it’s nice out. I had a spare. Just kind of wanted to be alone for a bit.” Stan said blankly, taking a puff of his cigarette and reaching over to pass it to Kenny.</p><p>   Kenny took the smoke with one hand, keeping the other one carefully on the steering wheel. He took a long drag before passing it back to his friend.</p><p>   “Wendy still pissed about you not wanting to come to New York?” Kenny asked sympathetically. Kenny had always been there to listen to his friends ramble whenever they needed him. He wasn’t really one to talk about his own issues anyways. He’d much rather distract himself with his friends' worries than his own. More distractions. </p><p>   “Yeah dude, I don’t know. I don’t really wanna be that far from my family, Kyle, you know… all of you guys. I think I’d miss you too much.” Stan spoke slowly, taking another drag from his cigarette. </p><p>   “Won’t you miss Wendy too though?” </p><p>   “Well yeah.. of course I will… I don’t know, she’s been acting kinda weird lately. Not like herself.. we might just, I don’t know.. need a break?” Stan tried to cover up his emotions, and usually did so very well, but Kenny could hear the hurt welling up in his throat. </p><p>   They pulled up into the parking lot of City Wok, and Kenny reached over to turn the car off. He turned to look at his friend, reaching his bony hand over to give Stan’s arm a supportive squeeze.</p><p>   “Hey man, I’m here for you no matter what ends up happening. You’ve always got us okay? Girls come and go, and I know you love Wendy a lot; but don’t make yourself miserable just so she’s happy. Do whatever is best for you alright?” Kenny had a kind smile on his face as he spoke. He had always been great at comforting his friends, and honestly, he really did hate seeing them upset. </p><p>   Stan shifted slightly in his seat, looking at Kenny with a halfhearted smile. “Thanks man. That means a lot.” And with that, Kenny headed in to work.</p>
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<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Car Crashes and Confessions</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sowwy this one is a little shorter. Plot starting though so ahhhhhh. Feel free to leave feedback in the comments yall.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kenny got off work a little later than expected that day, the dinner rush was a nightmare. Monday’s were usually slow days, but he guessed nobody felt like cooking dinner tonight. Once the store was cleaned up and all the closing duties were finished, Kenny walked to the back room where his boss usually sat doing paperwork and ingredient ordering. </p>
<p>   “Hey uh, I’m done. Can I head out now or do you need a hand with anything else?” Kenny said, shifting his weight back and forth on his legs slowly. Mr Tuong smiled up at Kenny, standing from his leather desk chair to shake Kenny’s hand. </p>
<p>   “Of course Dennis, thank you for your hard work tonight!” He said, giving his hand a small squeeze as he returned to his place at his desk chair. “Say hi to your sister for me Dennis. Very sweet girl.” </p>
<p>   Kenny smiled. Karen was sweet, he was right about that. “Thank you sir, and I will.” Kenny said before grabbing his things and heading out to meet Stan at Tweek Bros.</p>
<p>   City Wok usually closed around 9pm, and Tweek Bros around 10pm. Kenny would often stop in and get coffee after long nights of work. He’d chat with Tweek, who usually had some sort of world ending theory to ramble about as he worked the counter. Or he’d just go there to decompress before heading home. </p>
<p>   The night sky was really pretty that night. Not that it wasn’t usually, but tonight the stars seemed to shine a little brighter, the warm smell of spring wafting up into Kenny’s nose. Though, it was still a little too chilly for it to fully feel like spring. He walked up to the door of Tweek Bros, reaching up and yanking it open. He always had to tug a little harder on this door, for some reason it had always been stupidly heavy. The bell at the top of the door let out a jingle as Kenny stepped into the shop. </p>
<p>   Kenny had a look around, trying to scout out his dark haired friend. To his surprise, the coffee shop was empty. Well, except for Tweek who had his arms resting over the counter as he leaned over to talk to someone. Craig. Kenny felt his stomach churn in anticipation. He hardly ever ran into Craig in town like this. The only times he usually saw him were at school, or the movie theatre where he worked. Craig spent most of his time at home or with his friends. </p>
<p>    Kenny walked over to the two boys who were seemingly lost in conversation about some existential bullshit about how big the universe was. “Hey uhh… have you guys seen Stan in here at all?” He asked, not allowing himself to look at Craig and instead directing his attention to the blonde boy behind the counter. Tweek turned over, his bright green eyes meeting Kenny’s for a moment before he looked down to avoid eye contact. Tweek had a bunch of colourful clips in his hair that day, his apron adorned with multiple pins. A couple little flower pins and one pride flag. </p>
<p>    “Gah! Sorry Kenny.. you scared me… uhhhhhh he was ummmm he was here earlier…. He left though… like an hour ago..” Tweek said anxiously, fiddling with his bandaged fingers as he spoke. Kenny groaned, rolling his eyes and reaching to pull his phone out of his jacket pocket. He could feel Craig’s eyes on him, and it took everything in his power not to meet his gaze and make some comment about him flirting with the short blonde barista. For somebody who insisted on being straight, Craig was really fucking gay. </p>
<p>   Once Kenny checked his phone, he mentally cursed at himself for not looking at it before he left work. He had one missed call from Stan and two unread messages.</p>
<p>Stan the Man- Hey dude I ended up just going to Kyle's house I’m gonna crash there so don’t come pick me up after.</p>
<p>Stan the Man- Kenny?</p>
<p>   Kenny let out a sigh as he closed his phone and shoved it back into his pocket. He finally let himself bring his eyes up to Craig. He had a very unamused look stuck on his face as he kept his eyes glued to Kenny. Kenny felt the edges of his lips turn up into a smirk as he turned to lean his back against the counter. </p>
<p>   “What? Nothing bitter to say tonight Craig?” Kenny practically sang the words. He shifted his head over to look Craig up and down. He had his navy jacket on still, but unlike earlier it was unzipped to reveal his ‘I believe’ t shirt. Kenny liked that shirt on him. The neckline was a little lower and it showed off his collarbones really nicely. Kenny had to bite his lip to keep him from saying something else.</p>
<p>   Craig rolled his eyes, reaching up to tug on the yellow strings that hung from his hat. “Honestly Kenny I don’t have the energy for this right now. Can you just fuck off?” Craig said in a low tone. Wow, that’s a first.</p>
<p>   Kenny felt his smile fall, his eyes still glued to the tall boy in front of him. “Alright then…. I’m gonna head out then I guess. Did uh…” Kenny paused before finishing his sentence, unsure how what he was about to say might come off. “Did you need a ride home.. Tucker?” </p>
<p>   Craig looked a little dumbfounded at the question, his mouth parting slightly as he thought about what to say. To Kenny’s surprise, Craig said “Uh yeah whatever, I guess. I don’t really feel like walking.”</p>
<p>   Kenny stood there in silence for a moment, not really processing the fact that Craig had actually said yes for a moment. Craig gave Kenny a confused look, raising his arms up at him after a moment more of silence. </p>
<p>   “Are we uh, gonna leave or are you just gonna stare at me like an idiot?” Craig said, pulling Kenny out of his fog. His voice was low and smooth when he spoke. He sounded annoyed, but not filled with as much anger as it usually was when he spoke to Kenny. Kenny collected himself, standing up straight and shifting his weight to one side. </p>
<p>   “Oh yeah, alright let’s go.. my car is still at City Wok so we need to walk back and grab it. Cya blondie.” Kenny said as he started to make his way to the door, giving Tweek a lazy wave. </p>
<p>   Craig followed closely behind, reaching over top of Kenny to pull the door open with ease. “Bye Tweek. See you tomorrow.” Craig said with a nod as the two of them left the coffee shop. </p>
<p>   The walk to Kenny’s truck was pretty quiet. Craig pulled a smoke out of his pocket, lifting it up to his lips and lighting it. Kenny did the same, pulling out his smokes and grabbing one before placing it loosely between his lips. </p>
<p>   “You have a lighter this time?” Craig said blankly. Kenny smiled, pulling the lighter Craig had given him yesterday out of his pocket and lit his cigarette with it. “Yeah I’m good thanks.</p>
<p>   Craig stared at the lighter for a minute, and then let his eyes move up to Kenny’s face. He mentally scolded himself for looking, but he couldn’t help but think Kenny looked like an idiot when he smoked. The way he let the smoke hang out of his mouth like it didn’t even matter if it fell out. </p>
<p>   After a minute or two they made it to the truck. Kenny reached into his pocket for his keys, unlocking the doors and sliding into the driver's seat. Craig ducked into the passengers side, almost hitting his head off the roof. God he looked like a giant in Kenny’s truck. His legs bent up, his back hunched so his head wouldn’t scrape against the roof. It made Kenny giggle slightly as he started the car.</p>
<p>   “So what were you doing with Tweeker? Trying to get back on that?” Kenny joked as he put the car into reverse and pulled out of the parking lot. </p>
<p>   “Oh shut up asshole, Tweek is my friend. We /fake/ dated in elementary school it was fucking forever ago. Anyways I fucking told you I’m not gay dude.” Craig snarled, a small blush creeping across his face at the comment about him and Tweek. Kenny chuckled, his eyes breaking contact from the road for a minute as he looked over to say something to Craig. </p>
<p>   Just as he looked away, a bright light flashed into his windshield. Craig let out a loud “oh fuck! Kenny watch where you’re going!” Kenny spun back, and he cursed at himself for not paying attention. He must have swerved into the other lane because a semi truck was heading for the two of them head on. Kenny grabbed the wheel tightly, spinning it harshly to get the truck out of the way. The wheels turned, and the car had started to spin out before finally, CRASH.</p>
<p>    The car let out a puff of smoke from the hood. Craig panted loudly, his eyes darting around the car to asses the situation. A stop sign had busted through the windshield, the poll stabbing right through.. Kenny..</p>
<p>   Kenny let out a loud, pained cough. As he did, a large burst of blood erupted from his lips. The poll had jammed itself right through the middle of Kenny’s stomach and through the back of his seat. Craig’s eyes widened in fear as he quickly grabbed out his phone to dial 911.</p>
<p>   “Kenny shit! Fuck! No fuck! Kenny cmon stay with me alright dude! I’m calling an ambulance.” Craig said, ripping his jacket off to put pressure around where the poll had been stabbed into the blonde boy. To Craig’s surprise, Kenny smiled and let out a small laugh. Craig could tell it hurt him to chuckle.</p>
<p>   “Don’t… call..” Kenny said, another dribble of blood leaking down his chin as he spoke. Craig was shaking violently, his hand wrapped tightly around his phone as the operator started to speak on the other line. </p>
<p>   “911 what’s your city?” The lady on the phone said calmly. Craig stared at Kenny for a moment, confused as to why he didn’t want him to call for help. </p>
<p>   “South Park..” Craig said urgently into the phone, not allowing his eyes to leave the impaled blonde boy in the driver's seat. “Kenny why the fuck wouldn’t I call help you’re going to die if I don’t!” Craig could feel a knot growing in the back of his throat as his eyes began to well up with tears. He may not have liked Kenny very much, but he certainly did not want him to fucking die. </p>
<p>   Kenny smiled softly, reaching a hand over to grab Craig’s hand and squeezing it gently. “H-Hey heh, it’s okay.. I’ll be okay in the morning…” he said weakly as his eyes started to feel heavy. Craig breathed heavily as a noise began to come from his phone again.</p>
<p>   “South Park police what’s your emergency?” </p>
<p>    “I was in an accident, my friend is hurt really bad. He needs medical attention now.” Craig said in a panicked and shaky voice. Kenny smiled wider. He never thought that Craig would have ever cared if he died, let alone cry about it.</p>
<p>    “Hey… don’t cry about me Tucker…. that’s gay..” Kenny said as he let his eyes finally drift shut.</p>
<p>——-</p>
<p>   Dying never felt good. It was always different, but never good. Sometimes he saw a bright light, sometimes he felt a fiery heat clamping around his skin. Sometimes he even got stuck in limbo for a couple hours after. He felt his eyes shoot open, adjusting slowly to the light that was peering in through his bedroom window. He reached up, rubbing his temples gently as he sat up in his bed. Fuck. The headache after dying was always the worst. He quickly turned over to his nightstand to check the time.</p>
<p>7am</p>
<p>   At least he’d make it to school on time today.</p>
<p>——</p>
<p> </p>
<p>   Kenny arrived at school at 7:30 that day, which was probably the earliest he had ever made it into school. He parked in his usual spot by the back and slid out of his car to sneak a cigarette before the bell. As he walked towards the spot by the dumpster that he usually lit up by, he noticed a tall figure sitting against the side of it. It was Craig. </p>
<p>   Kenny smiled to himself, happy that it was him that got hurt in the accident last night and that Craig made it out without any serious injuries. Craig hadn’t really noticed Kenny yet, so the blonde quickly slid down the dumpster next to him. This caught Craig’s attention. His hazel eyes shot towards the source of the noise and he quickly rubbed them as he fell out of his haze.</p>
<p>   “Morning Tucker, got a smoke?” Kenny said, teasingly poking Craig’s arm as he asked. Craig didn’t reply, staring at Kenny for another beat before reaching into his pocket and handing Kenny a cigarette. Kenny was a little surprised that Craig didn’t react too negatively to his presence. In fact, he looked a little off..</p>
<p>   “You okay man?” Kenny asked as he lit the smoke with Craig’s lighter. Craig shifted uncomfortably, reaching his free hand down to rub his leg gently. </p>
<p>   “Uh yeah.. just.. had a fucked up dream last night.” Craig said slowly, staring off ahead of him instead of looking at Kenny. Kenny felt himself tense. A dream? What kind of dream.. had Craig dreamed about him dying?</p>
<p>   “What was it about…” Kenny asked anxiously, wondering if Craig even had the slightest bit of recollection of last night's crash. </p>
<p>   Craig glanced towards Kenny for a minute, and then returned his gaze to the nothingness ahead of him. “It’s dumb.” </p>
<p>   “I wanna know.”</p>
<p>   Craig paused again, his hand still pawing at his leg slowly. “Uh… after you dropped me off at home I had this fucked to dream that like…. i don’t know it’s stupid but, you like…. died?” Craig said, his voice low and shaky. “Not that I’d give a fuck if you dropped off the earth it just like… I don’t know it was fucked up. You were all bloody and you had this-“</p>
<p>   “Pole sticking out of my stomach?” Kenny interrupted, this caused Craig to stiffen. His eyes went wide as he shot his head towards Kenny. “In the car right? We got into an accident?”</p>
<p>   Craig was baffled, his mouth opening for a moment and then closing again before finally saying “how the fuck do you know that.”</p>
<p>   “How the fuck do you remember?” Kenny said seriously. His usual playful demeanour completely evaporating as he lifted his smoke to his lips again. “Nobody fucking remembers ever why did you have to….”</p>
<p>   Craig stared at Kenny with confusion clouding his thoughts. “What the fuck are you talking about Kenny it was just a fucking dream how the fuck did you know my dream?”</p>
<p>   “I died last night Craig.”</p>
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